Management

Donald S. Bubar, M.Sc., P.Geo, President and CEO

Mr. Bubar, P.Geo. is a geologist with over 30 years experience in mineral exploration in Canada. He is a graduate of McGill University, (B.Sc., 1977) and Queen's University (M.Sc., 1981). From 1984 to 1994, he worked for Aur Resources Inc. where as Exploration Manager he was involved with the discovery of the Louvicourt copper-zinc deposit, Val d'Or, Quebec in 1989.  Since 1995, Mr. Bubar has been President and CEO of Avalon.

Mr. Bubar is also a Director of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) and was instrumental in the creation of its Aboriginal Affairs Committee in December, 2004. He continues to Co-Chair the committee which advocates for greater co-operation between exploration companies and aboriginal communities.

R.J. (Jim) Andersen, CA, CPA (Illinois), CFP, Vice President, Finance and CFO 

Mr. Andersen is the managing director of the accounting firm Andersen & Company Professional Corporation, a boutique accounting firm located in downtown Toronto.  He has over fifteen years of experience in public practice, and has had a wide variety of experience in providing auditing, accounting and management consulting services to mining companies and large manufacturing firms in several different industries.  He joined Avalon in 2000 and was in charge of the Company's external audit for five years prior to that.

Mr. Andersen earned his B.Com (with high distinction) from the University of Toronto in 1991, and began his career with the mining services team at Coopers & Lybrand. More recently he has acted as a part-time professor in the MBA program at the Schulich School of Business at York University and is a trustee of the Gardiner Museum.

Brian Chandler, P.Eng, Sr. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Chandler is a Professional Engineer who brings over 30 years cumulative international experience in project development and operations in various parts of the world including Canada, Ireland, Indonesia, Angola, and Africa. Most recently, Brian served as Senior Vice President and Managing Director for the African operations of IAMGOLD Corp, based in Dakar, Sénégal, where he successfully led the establishment of IAMGOLD's corporate presence in West Africa. 

Educated in the United Kingdom, Mr. Chandler holds a B.Sc. from Coventry University, with graduate studies in industrial management.  He began his mining career in northern British Columbia and the Yukon, then moved on to international assignments with major mining companies including Freeport McMoran and Anglo American Corporation. Brian has a strong reputation as a leader and strategic thinker who makes health, safety, the environment and corporate social responsibility a top priority, consistent with Avalon's core values.  

Tim Butler, BA Econ, B.Comm, Vice President, Human Resources

Tim is a senior human resources practitioner and has worked with some of the world's largest resource companies with international experience in Canada, USA, Australia and South America. His experience also includes organizational development, change management, business improvement, occupational health & safety, and labour relations.

Tim was most recently with the Mosaic Company, the world's leading producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash, the Vice President, Human Resources - Business Unit Operations and provided executive oversight for the delivery and execution of all strategic HR initiatives within Operations, including talent management/ development/ deployment, rewards, employee engagement, employee relations, organizational effectiveness, change management, and all other functions within the HR suite.

Prior to Mosaic, Tim was with the Iron Ore Company of Canada as the Vice President Human Resources. Tim was also with BHP Billiton and was part of getting Canada's first diamond mine up and running. He negotiated and administered impact and benefits agreements with aboriginal organisations and governments, and established training and development plans to support a culture of excellence and safe performance at a world-class operation.

Tim has been the Employer representative on the Board of Directors of NWT and Nunavut Workers' Compensation Board serving also as Chairman of the Policy Committee and member of the Executive Committee.

Tim has Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Bachelor of Commerce degrees. He has also has a Graduate Certificate in Human Resources from Royal Roads University.

William Mercer Ph.D., P.Geo, Vice President, Exploration

Dr. Mercer has been VP Exploration with Avalon since 2007.  A consulting geologist, Dr Mercer earned his BSc. in geology from Edinburgh University (1968) and a PhD from McMaster University (1975).  Since graduating, he enjoyed a 32-year career with the Noranda/Falconbridge group holding a series of managerial positions, working on international projects in over 30 countries, ultimately serving as Director-Geology and Geochemistry.

His responsibilities have ranged from management of large exploration groups based in Canada and overseas, to technical advice on advanced acquisitions as part of the Business Development group, negotiation of joint venture agreements, review of resource reports, implementation of quality control programs and implementation and auditing of environment, health and safety programs.

Dr. Mercer served as the President of the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences (CFES), the umbrella organization for all earth science associations in Canada (2008 - 2010), and as President of the Prospectors and Developers Association (2002-2004), serving as an executive of the association for 8 years. He currently chairs or is a member of several PDAC committees, including the Governance Committee, Health and Safety Committee and Corporate Social Responsibility.

In January 2009, Dr. Mercer was the recipient of the David Barr Award from the Association for Mineral Exploration in British Columbia for excellence in leadership and innovation in mineral exploration health and safety. He also was honoured with the PDAC Distinguished Service Award in 2006.

Pierre Neatby, BA Econ (Hons), Vice President, Sales and Marketing

Mr. Neatby spent 19 years with the Noranda/Falconbridge group in various sales and marketing roles, including Managing Director of Noranda's London, UK based sales company.  Mr. Neatby brings leadership and international marketing, sales and trading experience in LME traded metals, industrial chemicals and industrial minerals to Avalon. Mr. Neatby earned a BA in Economics from Queen's University and trained as a Black Belt in Six Sigma with Noranda.

Richard Pratt, Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Richard has over 20 years of experience in private practice, where he represented corporate and financial institution clients in a wide array of sectors, including mining, manufacturing, broadcasting and technology, focusing on business critical public and private debt financings and re-organizations. For the past three years, Richard has been general counsel of a development stage mining company with projects in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and holds an Honours BComm from the University of Manitoba and a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University.

David D. Swisher, B.Sc, Vice President, Operations

Mr. Swisher is a mining engineer with over 20 years of precious and industrial mineral operations both underground and on surface, including the study of underground and surface mining techniques in Sweden.  He has held positions of increasing responsibility in all facets of mining at the mine manager and executive levels.  His experience includes the evaluation and implementation of mining methods, environmental, health and safety processes, maintenance best practices, operations optimization as a Six Sigma Black Belt, feasibility assessment and advanced behavioral instruction. Mr. Swisher has also successfully led numerous Labor Union and Aboriginal negotiations to mutually agreeable results.

From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Swisher worked for Tamerlane Ventures Inc. where as Vice President and Senior Project Manager he planned, designed and drafted an independently verified NI 43-101 technical report and feasibility study, negotiated and executed comprehensive agreements with local aboriginal groups, directed and successfully completed diamond drilling programs, completed a full environmental assessment resulting in the receipt of all permits for project construction and developed a bankable finance package for the project. 

Mark Wiseman, BSc (Hon), MBA, Vice President, Sustainability

Mr Wiseman is a biologist with over 30 years of health, safety, environment and social responsibility (HSEC) experience.   He is a graduate of Guelph University (BSc, 1979) and Laurentian University (MBA, 1989).  Following a period of acid rain research with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Mark joined Falconbridge Limited in 1980, and worked in progressively responsible HSEC positions in the mining industry, both in operations and large scale projects nationally and internationally.  Most recently he was Director Health, Safety and Environment for Xstrata Nickel's Koniambo Project.

Mark has extensive experience in Social and Environmental Impact Assessment, permitting, HSEC management systems development and implementation, training, risk management, closure planning, auditing and due diligence assessment with the goal of continuous performance improvement.  He has R&D experience as well as developed and implemented innovative and leading edge environmental protection measures. He has participated and chaired numerous multi-stakeholder committees in the development of standards and regulations as well as managing relationships and requirements of local, national and international stakeholders.

Cindy Hu, CA, CPA (Illinois), CGA Controller

Ms. Hu is a senior manager with the accounting firm Andersen & Company Professional Corporation. She is a Chartered Accountant with 11 years experience in public accounting practice and financial reporting, primarily for junior public companies and private wealth management portfolios. She joined Avalon in 2007.

MS. Hu earned her B.Com from Laurentian University in 1996.